IRLF 


Hll/MMll$K\ 


CASE 
B 


/*/    >-^- 

'-^^K^O^^*T-*L-:^7 


In  consequence,  we  only  bowed  formally  " 

(See  page  31) 


Copyright,  1903,  by 
DODD.  MEAD  AND  COMPANY 


Published   October,  1903 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS  •  JOHN  WILSON 
AND    SON     •     CAMBRIDGE,    U.  S.  A. 


ILLUSTRATIONS J 


"  In  consequence,  we  only  bowed  for 
mally  " Frontispiece 


Facing  page 

\     "  For  we  had  our  billing  and   cooing   to 

live  on"  .  18 


"  For  I  kept  stealing  glances  over  the  top 

of  it" 34 


She  was  saying  something  to  the  girl, 

and  went  on  saying  it "      ...       64 


'  'What  makes  you  so  sure  ? '        ...      90 


M22177 


ACHE 

LOVE     AFFAIR 

THERE  are  plenty  of  people 
who  maintain  that  of  the 
tales  told  of  Mrs.  Baxter 
one  half  are  n't  true,  and  the  other 
half  never  happened.  It  is  to  be 
acknowledged  that  many  of  the 
occurrences  connected  by  public 
belief  or  hearsay  with  that  well- 
intentioned  lady  bear  strong  evi 
dence  of  what  may  be  best  termed 
"  embroidery,"  and  more  than  once 
I  have  watched  a  mere  shred  of  a 

yarn  slowly  evolved  into  a  story, 
[ii] 


:\  r  i  - 

^     2e'l>  CHECKED  LOVE  AFFAIR 


which  bore  as  slight  a  resemblance 
to  its  original  as  the  chicken  does 
to  the  egg,  and  which  I  should 
never  have  connected,  one  with  the 
other,  had  I  not  seen  the  interme 
diate  stages  of  growth.  Yet  this 
very  metaphor  tells  my  own  view, 
and  when,  now  and  again,  I  hear 
some  one  deny  the  actuality  of 
anything  mothered  upon  her,  I 
am  always  tempted  to  start  hunt 
ing  for  the  original,  before  it 
had  been  hatched  into  a  cluck 
ing  hen,  or  beaten  into  an  omelette 
souffle. 

[12] 


.'o 


K&at(    #£\ 

T-Sf..  ^V:: 


"C75J 

wSn 


OSj^J< 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

In  making  this  statement,  it  is 
to  be  confessed  that  my  personal 
experience  is  largely  responsible  for 
my  faith  in  there  being  a  basis  for 
the  mythology  that  clusters  about 
Mrs.  Baxter's  name.  It  has  come 
back  to  me  more  than  once  that 
she  takes  pride  in  asserting  that  a 
certain  very  happy  marriage  was 
due  solely  to  her  diplomacy,  and 
merely  because  the  persons  most 
concerned  have  not  seen  fit  to  deny 
her  claim,  it  is  now  generally  be 
lieved  by  the  naturally  gullible  of 
New  York ;  which  is  not  very  far 


[13 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

from  saying  that  it  is  universally 
accepted.  If  no  more  than  that 
were  said,  I  should  be  quite  con 
tent  to  allow  her  the  boast,  but 
now  I  am  constantly  hearing  such 
absurd  variants  and  elaborations  of 
her  simple  statement  that  it  seems 
necessary  in  self-defence  to  file 
both  a  demurrer  and  a  bill  of  ex 
ceptions,  not  with  any  hope  that 
they  will  put  an  end  to  the  fables, 
for  the  fib  is  the  cat  of  human 
speech,  but  in  order  that  the  case 
for  the  plaintiff  shall  at  least  be  on 
record  for  him  who  likes  to  read. 

[14] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

It  may  be  said  to  have  begun 
when,  having  graduated  success 
fully  from  Yale,  I  made  my  start  in 
life  in  a  big  down  town  bank,  filled 
with  the  laudable  ambitions  of 
showing  Wall  Street  what  a  valua 
ble  thing  a  university  education 
is  to  a  business  man,  and  of  be 
coming  president  of  the  insti 
tution  within  five  years.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  I  had  forgotten 
all  I  ever  learned  at  college,  and 
was  second  assistant  paying  teller, 
with  a  salary  of  thirteen  hundred  a 
year. 

[15] 


?.-..?.v-.i 


,<•>. 

•  *:{: 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

That  my  advancement  had  not 
been  quite  so  rapid  as  I  hoped  was 
in  a  measure  due  to  the  fact  that 
in  those  years  my  social  progress 
had  been  great,  and  it  is  to  be  con 
fessed  that  I  took  far  more  interest 
in  the  figures  of  a  cotillon  than  1 
did  in  those  of  a  ledger.  If,  how 
ever,  my  daily  toil  from  nine  to 
four  had  not  particularly  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  president  of  the 
institution,  my  nightly  frivolling 
from  nine  to  four  had  served  to 
interest  the  president's  daughter, 
and  one  day,  after  business  hours, 

[16] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

walking  more  on  air  than  matter,  I 
went  to  my  superior's  little  office 
in  the  bank  building,  told  him 
what  I  had  to  tell,  and  asked  his 
consent,  for  the  moment  the  hap 
piest  and  the  proudest  man  living, 
for  Freda  was  one  girl  in  a  million, 
there  was  heaps  of  money,  and  I 
never  doubted  that  now  my  promo 
tion  would  be  as  rapid  as  hitherto 
it  had  been  slow. 

When  I  came  out,  I  had  ten 
pounds  of  lead  in  each  boot,  and  a 
conviction  that  parents  were  but  a 
necessary  evil  of  nature,  and  a  low- 

[17] 


A    CHECKED  LOVE   AFFAIR 

minded,  sordid  lot,  who  took  par 
ticular  delight  in  torturing  their 
children.  As  a  fact,  Freda's  papa 
had  been  very  decent,  for  he  'd  told 
me  that  he  should  never  cross  his 
daughter's  inclination  in  such  a 
matter,  but  also  that  he  could  not 
consent  to  more  than  an  engage 
ment  until  I  was  in  a  position  to 
properly  support  her;  adding  that 
he  was  very  sorry  that  the  cashier's 
reports  had  not  been  more  favor 
able,  because  henceforth  particular 
care  would  have  to  be  exercised 
not  to  advance  me  too  rapidly,  lest 

[18] 


y//ls§* 


s 


>^yjM 


"  For  we  had  our  billing  and  cooing  to  live  on  " 

(See  page  19) 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

my  fellow  clerks    should    suspect 
favoritism. 

Well,  we  settled  down  to  that 
slow  torture,  a  long  engagement, 
which  ought  to  have  been  included 
in  the  Prayer  Book  along  with  the 
"  from  plague,  pestilence  and  fam 
ine,  from  battle  and  murder,  and 
from  sudden  death  "  in  the  Litany. 
It  was  n't  so  bad  at  first,  for  we 
had  our  billing  and  cooing  to  live 
on,  and  dinners  were  given  in  our 
honor,  and  every  one  made  a  flutter 
over  us.  But  by  the  end  of  a  year 
all  that  was  over;  we  weren't  in- 

[19] 


'*.•• 
••••.* 


•tm. 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

vited  anywhere,  or,  if  we  were, 
Freda  was  rarely  asked  to  dance, 
and  I  was  never  asked  to  lead,  and 
no  one  cared  to  talk  to  either  of  us, 
so  we  might  as  well  have  stayed  at 
home  for  all  the  variety  or  fun  it 
meant.  The  old  saying  runs  that 
"  Marriage  halves  our  troubles  and 
doubles  our  joys,"  but  a  betrothal 
is  quite  another  story,  and  is  not  the 
delicious  solitude  a  deux  of  court 
ship  and  marriage,  but  what  might 
be  called  a  "  solitary  two  in  society." 
It  was  more  than  human,  or  at 
least  man's  nature  could  stand,  and 

[20] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

after  some  preliminary  mutterings, 
I  at  last  had  a  blow-out  with  Mr. 
Fearing,  which  was  sufficiently 
foolish  in  all  conscience'  sake,  but, 
as  if  that  wasn't  bad  enough,  I 
must  go  straight  from  this  inter 
view  to  Freda,  and  begin  abusing 
her  father.  Whatever  she  might 
think,  she  was  a  trump,  and  stood 
up  for  her  paternal,  telling  me  that 
I  ought  not  to  speak  so  of  any  man 
when  I  was  in  his  house.  Like  a 
donkey  I  thereupon  announced  that 
that  was  easily  remedied  by  my 
leaving.  Then  she  said  that  my 

[21] 
A* 


A    CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

love  for  her  ought  to  prevent 
my  saying  such  things  anywhere. 
I  retorted  that  what  she  said 
showed  only  too  plainly  that  she 
cared  more  for  her  father  than  she 
did  for  me,  and  I'd  always  sus 
pected  it.  Freda  flared  up,  as  any 
girl  of  spirit  would,  and  before 
either  of  us  realized  how  it  came 
about,  she  was  sobbing  on  a  sofa, 
and  I  was  hurrying  down  the  front 
steps,  with  woman's  faithlessness, 
and  prussic  acid,  and  other  closely 
related  factors  flashing  through  my 
brain. 

[22] 


A    CHECKED    LOVE   AFFAIR 

After  a  night's  sleeplessness,  I 
was  ashamed  enough,  and  was  try 
ing  to  tell  Freda  so  in  a  letter, 
when  a  little  package,  containing 
the  engagement  ring  and  a  note, 
arrived  from  her.  The  latter  was 
the  regular  stereotyped  form :  "  Best 
for  both  that  such  an  explanation 
has  taken  place."  "  Need  not  re 
turn,  but  only  burn  my  letters,  as 
I  will  yours."  "Trusts  that  what 
has  taken  place  will  not  make  a 
friendship  impossible,"  and  "  I  will 
ever  wish  for  your  success."  Its 

very  lack  of  feeling  should  have 
[23] 


A   CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

told  me  that  she  had  the  brakes 
on  at  full  tension,  but  I  only  took 
it  as  a  further  proof  that  I  had 
become  nothing  to  her,  and  so 
the  sixth  attempt  at  a  letter  went 
into  the  fire  after  the  five  previ 
ous  ones. 

Even  then  it  might  have  been 
patched  up,  for  we  were  both  as 
near  to  breaking  our  hearts  as  those 
extremely  india-rubbery  muscles 
and  valves  can  come  to  be,  had  it 
not  been  for  relatives  and  friends. 
My  sister,  thinking  I'd  been  very 
hardly  treated,  and  wishing  to  carry 

[24] 


.'o 


A    CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

it  off  bravely,  told  a  friend  that 
she  was  really  very  glad  of  the 
outcome,  because  she  had  always 
thought  that  her  brother  was  selling 
himself.  The  friend  repeated  this 
to  some  one,  who  in  turn  quoted 
it,  as  having  been  said  by  Mr.,  in 
stead  of  Miss,  Travis,  and  then  it 
was  carried  back  to  Freda  that  Jim 
Travis  had  declared  that  he  'd  only 
cared  for  her  money  anyway,  and 
was  glad  to  be  quit  of  it  all.  So 
she  started  off  to  Europe  with 
her  father,  and  I  went  back  to  my 
ledger.  One  very  small  sop  to  me 


[25] 


...'.•.*•••• 
„••        c 

O 
O 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

was  that  the  president,  just  before 
he  sailed,  called  me  in  and  said  he 
was  very  much  pleased  to  have 
better  reports  of  me  lately,  and 
that  the  engagement  being  now 
ended,  he  thought  no  one  could 
question  his  promoting  me  to  be 
assistant  teller.  But  I  was  too 
miserable  and  sore  over  her  going 
away  to  take  this  as  any  kindness, 
and  hardly  muttered  a  "  Thank 
you." 

In  a  year  they  came  back  from 
abroad,  and  Freda  took  up  society 
again,  but  I  ?d  cut  all  that  and  now 

[26] 


A    CHECKED    LOVE   AFFAIR 

took  no  interest  in  anything  but 
my  work,  so  we  never  met ;  and 
when  her  father  one  day  asked  me 
to  come  in  to  a  family  dinner,  I 
was  idiot  enough  to  refuse,  with  a 
cool  satisfaction  for  which  1  ought 
to  have  been  kicked.  Of  course 
Mr.  Fearing  wasn't  going  to  tell 

me,  without  some  sign  that  I  still 

* 

cared  for  Freda,  that  she  was  mis 
erable,  and  that  perhaps  he  'd  been 
a  bit  hard  and  rough  on  me  at  the 
blow-out,  as  he  meant  to,  before 
I  met  his  advance  that  way;  and 
so  that  chance  was  lost. 

[27] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

Here  it  was  that  Mrs.  Baxter 
took  the  matter  in  hand.  Without 
letting  either  Freda  or  me  know 
that  she  was  asking  the  other,  she 
invited  us  both  to  visit  her  at  her 
place  up  the  Hudson  during  the 
same  week,  and  what  is  more, 
she  didn't  bid  another  guest  for 

the  whole  time. 
i 

It  was  a  kill-or-cure  remedy,  and 
at  first  blush  it  seemed  the  former. 
We  met  at  the  station  as  we  went 
to  take  the  train,  but  each  pre 
tended  not  to  see  the  other,  and 
though  I  don't  use  tobacco,  I  took 

[28 


A    CHECKED   LOVE,   AFFAIR 

to  the  smoker  to  make  sure  of  not 
encountering  her  again.  You  can 
judge  then  what  our  respective 
emotions  were,  when,  on  arriving 
at  the  destination,  we  each  saw  the 
other  step  down  on  the  platform, 
and  of  what  those  feelings  became 
when  Mrs.  Baxter's  flunkey  grabbed 
our  small  impedimenta  from  us,  led 
us  to  a  trap,  and  then  asked  for 
our  trunk  checks. 

If  either  of  us  had  been  warned, 
peace  would  probably  have  been 
made  in  the  drive  to  the  house, 
for  it  was  a  station-cart,  than 

[29] 


'.'*» 

v*» 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

which  nothing  but  a  brougham  is 
better,  as  to  what  one  says,  and 
has  the  advantage  not  possessed  by 
that  vehicle,  of  letting  one  look 
straight  into  the  eyes  of  the  person 
one  is  with,  which  is  likely  to  melt 
any  frost  which  may  exist,  if  people 
really  love  each  other.  But  having 
cut  each  other  at  the  station,  Freda 
was  embarrassed,  and  I  did  n't  know 
what  to  do,  and  we  both  were  fu 
rious  at  the  awkwardness  of  the 
position  we  were  placed  in.  Had 
Mrs.  B0  not  been  Mrs.  B.,  she 

would  have  met  us  at  the  station, 
[30] 


y..*i 
*^2i 


o<syp< 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

and  then  there  would  have  been 
nothing  else  for  us  to  do  but  speak. 
She,  however,  reasoned  that  we 
only  needed  a  meeting  and  a  few 
minutes  alone  together  to  fix  it  all 
up,  and  arranged  it  all  according 
to  that  notion.  In  consequence, 
we  only  bowed  formally,  and,  tak 
ing  opposite  ends  of  the  carriage, 
sat  in  absolute  silence  during  the 
whole  of  the  drive. 

Having  begun  her  stratagem  so 
successfully,  Mrs.  Baxter  carried 
out  the  whole  campaign  upon  the 

same  lines.    At  dinner  that  even- 

[31] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

ing  everything  she  said  was  de 
signed  to  make  us  talk  to  each 
other,  and  not  to  her,  and  while 
we  behaved  very  well,  any  one  else 
would  have  seen  that  practically 
we  never  even  looked  at  each 
other,  address  our  remarks  as  we 
might,  and  the  frost  in  the  atmos 
phere  made  the  icing  of  the  cham 
pagne  quite  superfluous. 

The  dinner  eaten,  with  that  tact 
which  has  made  her  famous,  the 
hostess  proceeded  to  "planter"  us 
two  unfortunates  in  the  library,  and 

then,  giving  the  thinnest  and  most 

[32] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

palpable  of  excuses  for  departing, 
there  she  left  us. 

As  I've  already  said,  Freda  was 
a  girl  with  as  much  grit  as  beauty, 
and  when  I  was  only  meanly  wish 
ing  that  I  had  the  sand  to  go  off 
Jo  the  billiard  room,  she  took  the 
bull  by  the  horns. 

"  Mrs.  Baxter  is  proverbial,"  she 
exclaimed,  "for  her  poor  memory 
and  endless  mistakes,  and  so  of 
course  she  has  no  idea  of  what  a 
trying  position  she  has  put  us  in. 
My  suggestion  is  that  we  make  the 
best  of  it  by  each  taking  a  book 
[33] 


_•////?:••. 
*r».*»«!-sm 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

and  reading  until  we  hear  her 
coming  back,  when,  as  we  don't 
want  to  pain  her,  we  can  slip 
them  out  of  sight  and  seem  to  be 
talking." 

"That  is  much  the  best  thing," 
I  assented. 

So  we  each  sat  down  to  a  book. 
Freda  read  hers  with  exemplary 
attention,  never  letting  her  eyes 
leave  its  pages,  but  my  book 
wasn't  particularly  interesting,  or 
else  something  else  was  more  so, 
for  I  kept  stealing  glances  over  the 

top  of  it.    The  truth  is,  Freda  was 

[34 


"  For  I  kept  stealing  glances  over  the  top  of  it  " 

(See  page  34) 


A    CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

lovelier  even  than  she  used  to  be,  or 
at  least  was  looking  so  that  even 
ing.  She  was  charmingly  gowned, 
and,  quite  unconsciously  of  course, 
she  had  taken  a  seat  where  the 
red  light  of  a  lamp  and  the  flicker 
of  the  firelight  met,  setting  her  in 
a  most  becoming  radiance.  I  'm 
afraid  if  my  cogitations  had  been 
articulated,  the  variety  of  my  swear 
words  would  have  outlawed  me 
from  all  society  superior  to  the  long 
shoremen's  union,  and  my  honestly 
thought  opinion  of  myself  that 

evening  was  humble  enough  to  fit 

[35] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

the  meanest  man  that  crawls  this 
earth. 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  or  so, 
with  a  preliminary  and  very  arti 
ficial  cough,  which  allowed  us  to 
get  our  books  out  of  sight,  back 
trotted  Mrs.  Baxter,  fairly  beaming 
with  joy  at  the  happy  time  she 
believed  she  had  conferred  upon 
us ;  and,  after  a  little  general  talk, 
we  separated  for  the  night.  I  sat 
up  just  long  enough  to  write  a  line 
to  my  sister,  begging  her  to  tele 
graph  for  my  instant  return  to  the 

city;   and  as  proof  that  there  is 
[36] 


*/••'•"••  « 

''•*•'.'•          !  o« 

;•::••     <£** 
'•'•'.•— j^nt  *j 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

such  a  thing  as  thought-telepathy, 
Freda  wrote  to  her  father  in  almost 
identical  strains;  and  both  of  us 
impressed  upon  the  servant  who 
answered  the  bell  the  great  im 
portance  of  each  of  those  letters 
catching  the  earliest  mail. 

This  done,  I  went  to  bed,  some 
thing  quite  different  from  going  to 
sleep,  as  1  quickly  found,  and  after 
a  lot  of  miserable  tossing  and  fret 
ting,  I  rose,  relighted  my  light,  and 
got  out  from  my  trunk  a  bundle 
of  letters  and  other  things  —  a  lock 

of  hair,  the  ring,  a  couple  of  dried 

[37] 


ml 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

flowers,  a  ribbon  or  two,  and  that 
sort  of  truck,  which  means  such 
an  awful  lot  to  a  man,  if  it  means 
anything;  and  there  I  sat  till  the 
Lord  knows  when,  reading  over 
every  word  Freda  ever  said  to  me 
on  paper.  I  know  of  course  that 
as  a  gentleman  I  ought  to  have 
done  as  she  wrote  me,  and  burned 
them,  and  all  I  can  say  is,  I  hope, 
if  any  man  is  ever  in  the  same 
position,  he  '11  do  what  I  did  n't. 

Freda  breakfasted   in   her  room 
the  next  morning,   which  simpli 
fied  the  meal,  and  I  went  off  for 
[38] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

a  big  walk  that  kept  me  clear  of 
the  house  till  ten  minutes  before 
luncheon.  I  found  the  expected 
telegram  awaiting  me,  and,  with 
a  properly  regretful  expression  on 
my  phiz,  I  hunted  up  my  hostess, 
and,  handing  her  the  telegram  as 
an  evidence  of  good  faith,  I  told 
her  I  was  peremptorily  called  back 
to  the  city  and  would  like  to  take 
the  first  possible  train. 

"Was  there  ever  worse  luck?" 
exclaimed  Mrs.  B.  "Here  Miss 
Fearing  has  been  telegraphed  for 

also,  and  I  've  just  arranged  to  send 

[39] 


sltfe 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

her  to  the  three-thirty-five.  Must 
you  really  go?" 

This  pretty  nearly  bowled  me 
over,  but  I  got  my  breath  back,  and, 
being  deep  iij,  I  stuck  it  through. 
I  proposed  to  take  an  earlier  train 
than  that  Freda  was  going  on,  but 
that  hope  was  nipped  by  finding 
that  there  was  n't  one. 

"  And  if  you  must  desert  me  so, 
it  couldn't  come  better,  for  now 
you  can  look  out  for  Miss  Fear 
ing,"  reasons  Mrs.  Baxter. 

There  was  no  good  trying  to  slip 
out  of  it,  and  resignedly  we  ate 

[401 


A    CHECKED   LOVE  AFFAIR 

our  luncheon,  and  then  I  escaped 
upstairs  by  the  plea  that  I  must 
pack  my  trunk,  which  1  actually 
had  packed  that  morning  before 
breakfast,  and  this  gave  me  such 
a  lot  to  do  that  I  did  n't  come 
down  till  the  station  wagon  was 
waiting. 

Mrs.  Baxter,  by  some  quirk  of 
mind,  went  with  us  to  the  railway, 
which  made  the  trip  an  easier  one ; 
though  she  would  keep  on  protest 
ing  over  her  disappointment,  and 
so  compelling  each  of  us  to  do  an 
amount  of  regretting  and  that  sort 

[411 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

of  lying  which  is  dreadful  to  think 
about.  Of  course,  she  said  we 
must  come  to  her  later,  and  we 
were  both  ready  enough  to  promise 
that.  When  we  were  at  the  sta 
tion  and  were  awaiting  the  train, 
she  nearly  floored  both  of  us  by 
saying,  just  after  the  footman  came 
up  and  gave  her  the  trunk  checks, 
and  before  she  handed  them  over 
to  us: 

"Now,  really,  must  you  go  off 
like  this  ?  I  can't  help  feeling  that 
you've  only  made  those  telegrams 
an  excuse  for  going.  Let  me  have 

[42] 


-•o 


^«r 


!•  t      :?>v.**'* 

l^    --.vV : : 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

the  trunks  put  back  on  the  coach, 
and  stay  on  for  the  week?" 

That  knocked  me  out  so  that  I 
dropped  my  ticket  on  the  platform 
and  had  the  deuce  of  a  time  to  pick 
it  up,  which  was  a  mean  sneak 
because  it  left  Freda  to  do  all  the 
stuttering  and  inventing.  You'd 
better  believe  we  were  thankful 
when  we  were  safely  seated  in  the 
train. 

It  was  only  an  hour  to  the  city, 
and  Freda  put  her  small  luggage 
and  wrap  on  the  seat  by  her,  and 

read  a  novel  the  whole  way,  so  all 

[43] 


,,  •;.•»"••• 
°*     b 
>0 


z 


r»-v: 
*f& 


'H^po 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

I  had  to  do  was  to  carry  her  bag  to 
the  carriage  and  maid  that  met  her, 
and  then  end  the  whole  contre 
temps  with  a  lifting  of  my  hat.  I 
would  have  given  every  cent  I  had 
about  me  for  a  touch  of  the  little 
hand,  gloved  though  it  was,  and 
my  whole  year's  salary,  which  had 
mounted  to  twenty-two  hundred, 
for  a  touch  of  the  lips  that  once 
-  well,  that  part  does  n't  concern 
Mrs.  Baxter. 

I  went  to  my  club  and  sat  off  by 
myself  for  the  rest  of  the  afternoon, 
hating  humanity  more  than  Carlyle 

[44] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

ever  did,  and  hating  myself  still 
worse.  Then,  after  making  a  pre 
tence  of  eating  some  dinner,  I  stole 
off  to  my  bachelor  quarters  for  a 
good  sulk.  I  hadn't  been  at  this 
very  long  when  my  trunk  came, 
and  as  I  wanted  to  look  up  a  par 
ticular  expression  in  one  of  Freda's 
letters,  about  her  'Move  being  death 
less  and  unending,"  which  had 
cheered  me  a  bit  the  night  before, 
I  undid  the  strap,  got  out  my  key, 
and  was  about  to  unlock  it  when, 
to  my  astonishment,  I  found  that 
the  hasp  was  sprung  out. 

[45] 


,•/.'.•:••, 
•/• 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

Muttering  something  at  my  care 
lessness  in  not  having  locked  it,  I 
lifted  the  top.  What  I  saw  was 
still  further  of  a  shock,  for  there 
was  a  towel,  that  I  was  sure  I  'd 
never  put  there,  laid  over  the  tray 
and  neatly  tucked  in  around  the 
edges.  Tearing  it  off,  I  found  a 
whole  exhibit  of  the  daintiest  bits 
of  woman  finery  and  —  and — white 
things. 

My  first  theory  was  that  the  ex 
press  company  had  left  the  wrong 
trunk,  and  I  was  properly  dis 
gusted,  and  it  was  not  till  I  looked 

[461 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

at  the  end  and  saw  the  initials 
"  F.  F. "  that  it  suddenly  came  to 
me  that  Mrs.  Baxter  —  God  bless 
her  divine  faculty  !  —  had  mixed 
the  checks  when  she  had  handed 
them  over.  My  next  thought  was 
a  pleased  one,  for  it  was  a  real  joy 
to  have  even  a  trunk  of  Freda's  in 
my  rooms,  and  I  knelt  down  and 
touched  my  lips  two  or  three  times 
to  what  lay  on  the  surface.  Then, 
too,  it  would  enable  me  to  do  Freda 
a  small  service,  by  sending  it  to 
her  as  quickly  as  could  be;  and 
so,  tucking  in  the  towel  to  the  best 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

of  my  abilities,  and  closing  the 
lid,  I  ordered  a  cab.  While  I 
waited  for  it  I  pondered  whether 
good  manners  did  not  require 
me  to  write  a  letter  of  explana 
tion  to  go  with  it,  and,  granting 
it  did,  whether  1  couldn't  at 
the  same  time  tell  her  —  tell  her 
what  I  thought  of  myself  and  of 
her. 

I  didn't  puzzle  over  this  long, 
for  suddenly  it  came  to  me  that 
if  I  had  Freda's  trunk  she  must 
have  mine,  and  I  grew  cold  and 
then  hot  as  I  recalled  the  cir- 

[48] 


v/rt&" 

si  I  r£?*><. 

jl   IS. 


A    CHECKED    LOVE  AFFAIR 

cumstance  that  I  had  placed  that 
precious  bundle  of  letters  and 
souvenirs,  which  she  had  told  me 
to  destroy,  on  the  very  top  of  my 
packing. 

Thirty  minutes  later  I  stood  in 
the  Hearings'  drawing-room,  feel 
ing  for  all  the  world  as  if  I  were 
going  to  my  execution.  Much  too 
soon,  so  far  as  my  courage  was 
concerned,  I  heard  a  rustling  on 
the  stairs  and  Freda  came  through 
the  doorway. 

"  I  've  taken  the  liberty  —  I  Ve 
come,  Miss  Fearing,"  I  began, 

[49] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

"  about  those  letters,  and  to  ask 
your  pardon  for- 

She  grew  as  red  as  I  was.  "Then 
you  —  you  went  through  my 
trunk?"  she  broke  in  scornfully. 
"  I  'd  never  have  believed  it  of 
you." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  I  de 
manded  bewilderedly. 

"  How  could  you  know  I  'd  kept 
your  letters  if  you  haven't  pried 
through  my  clothes  and  found  them 
in  my  sachet  case,  hidden  at  the 
very  bottom  of  my  trunk  ? "  she 
cried. 

[50] 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

"Oh,  Freda,"  I  exclaimed,  "do you 
mean  that  you  Ve  kept  my  letters  ?  " 

"  What  letters  do  you  mean  ?  " 
she  asked,  with  astonishment. 

"  Why,  yours  to  me,  which  you 
must  have  found  on  the  top  of  my 
trunk." 

"  But  my  key  would  n't  open  it, 
and  then  we  discovered  your  ini 
tials,  and  so  it  was  sent  to  you  a 
few  minutes  ago." 

"My  darling ! "  was  all  I  said,  hold 
ing  out  my  arms ;  and  she  did  n't  say 
anything,  but  came  right  into  them. 


51 


A    CHECKED   LOVE   AFFAIR 

And  that  is  why  Freda  and  I 
have  never  denied  Mrs.  Baxter's 
claim  to  having  reconciled  us ;  for 
if  she  didn't,  I  am  sure  I  don't 
know  who  did. 


THE  CORTELYOU 
FEUD 

IT  could  never  have  happened  to 
us  anywhere  in  New  York  but 
at  Mrs.  Baxter's.    I  say  this 
not  with  bitterness  at,  but  in  calm 
recognition  of,  the  merits  and  de 
merits  of  that  universally  esteemed 
lady.    Abroad,  with  the  lords  cham 
berlain,  herald's  offices,  and  peer 
ages,  it  would  be  impossible.     In 
the  far  West,  where  the  biography 
and  genealogy  of  the  leading  fami 
lies  are  not  subjects  for  polite  con 
versation,  it  might  occur  frequently. 
[55] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

But  in  New  York,  lying  between 
these  two  extremes,  one  is  safe, 
except  from  accidents  due  to  the 
unfortunate  existence  of  a  peculiar 
class  of  people. 

The  kind  I  refer  to  are  those  de 
scribed  as  having  a  good  heart. 
Such  an  organ  involves,  as  a  natu 
ral  corollary,  a  weak  head.  These 
qualities  in  combination  are  a  ter 
rible  menace  to  society;  for,  ow 
ing  to  the  very  goodness  of  heart, 
their  possessors  are  pardoned  over 
and  over  again,  and  repeat  their  ill 

deeds  with  as  much  immunity  from 

[56] 


to 


CORTELTOU   FEUD 

punishment  as  a  New  York  police 
captain.  Every  social  circle  has 
one  or  more  of  these  half-crimi 
nals,  and  in  that  in  which  my  lot 
was  cast  Mrs.  Baxter  was  un 
equalled  for  the  number,  ingenuity, 
and  innocence  of  her  mistakes. 
Omitting  all  hearsay  and  they-say 
knowledge,  I  was  her  forty-seventh 
victim ;  and  as  poenologists  affirm 
that  more  than  half  of  the  crimi 
nal  acts  are  undiscovered,  it  can 
at  once  be  seen  how  society 
is  menaced  by  people  with  good 

hearts. 

[57] 


mm 

.  '•*•*  .Jr'tV*" 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


The  lady  who  always  tells  me 
when  I  do  wrong  —  and  to  married 
men  I  need  not  be  more  descriptive 
—  has  held  rne  responsible  for  that 
evening ;  and,  since  she  married 
me,  her  husband  is  not  the  one  to 
impeach  her  discrimination.  She 
insists  that,  knowing  Mrs.  Baxter, 
I  should  have  come  early,  and  so 
had  time  to  arrange  matters  quietly. 
I  appeal  to  any  man  if  it  would 
ever  occur  to  him  to  get  to  a  din 
ner  early  on  the  possibility  he  was 
to  sit  next  a  lighted  shell,  in  order 

that  he  might  express  to  his  hostess 

[58] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


his  dislike  of  explosives.  All  New 
York  has  known  for  years  of  our 
family  feud.  It 's  been  common 
property  ever  since  our  esteemed 
ancestors  thrashed  it  out  in  court, 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  public  and 
the  disruption  of  our  family.  For 
thirty  years  dinners,  luncheons, 
yacht  cruises,  and  house  parties 
have  been  arranged  so  as  to  keep 
a  proper  distance  between  the  de 
scendants  of  my  grandfather  John 
Cortelyou  and  of  his  nephew  Dab- 
ney.  Sometimes  I  have  seen  one 

of  the  latter  at  the  opposite  end  of 
[59] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


a  large  dinner-table,  and  here  and 
there  I  have  had  other  glimpses  of 
them.  But  until  that  evening,  no 
matter  how  close  chance  brought 
us  together,  we  had  always  suc 
ceeded  in  maintaining  a  dignified 
unconsciousness  of  each  other's 
existence. 

I  was,  let  it  be  confessed,  thirty 
minutes  late,  and  merely  accepting 
the  last  little  envelope  on  the  tray 
the  footman  offered  me,  hurried 
towards  the  drawing-room.  On 
my  way  I  naturally  looked  at  the 
card  inside  and  read : 

[60] 


& 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

Mr.  Pellew. 
Miss  Cortelyou. 

That  meant  nothing  to  me.  The 
name  is  not  an  uncommon  one, 
and  I  have  taken  in  my  aunts 
often  enough  to  get  accustomed 
to  the  occurrence,  even  in  the 
family.  So,  without  a  second 
thought  of  the  matter,  I  passed 
through  the  doorway  and  dis 
charged  my  devoirs  with  Mrs. 
Baxter. 

"  I  was  on  the  point  of  suicide, 
thinking  you  had  failed  me,"  she 
said.  "  As  it  is,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 

[61] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

Dana  have  just  sent  me  word  that 
they  can't  come  because  Milly  has 
croup." 

"  My  note  said  half  after  seven," 
I  stated  boldly.  When  one  is  very 
late  it  is  always  best  to  put  one's 
hostess  in  the  wrong,  and  a  mis 
take  more  or  less  to  Mrs.  Baxter 
was  immaterial. 

"Oh,  never!"  she  declared,  so 
guiltily  that  I  was  really  sorry  for 
her.  "  Well,  we  can't  discuss  it 
now.  We  were  just  going  in 
without  you,  and  we  '11  go  on,  leav 
ing  you  to  find  your  partner  by  the 

[62] 


to 


v> 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

process  of  elimination.  I  haven't 
left  you  Hobson's  choice,  how 
ever." 

I  glanced  round,  and  as  the 
couples  had  gravitated  together,  I 
easily  picked  out  the  only  single 
figure  left,  and  went  towards 
it.  She  was  turned  from  me, 
standing  by  Ferdie  Gallaudet  and 
his  partner,  who  had  not  yet 
moved. 

"  That  back  is  too  young  and 
pretty  for  Aunt  Ellen  or  Madge," 
was  my  first  thought.  My 

second  was  a  spoken  one,  and 
[63] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

merely  consisted  of  the  trite,  "I 
am  to  have  the  pleasure,  Miss 
Cortelyou." 

She  was  saying  something  to  the 
girl,  and  went  on  saying  it,  with 
her  head  over  her  shoulder,  even  as 
she  rested  her  hand  on  my  arm  and 
let  me  lead  her  away.  And  just  as 
I  was  going  to  look  at  her,  I  caught 
sight  of  Ferdie's  face,  and  fell  to 
wondering  what  could  ail  him  that 
he  looked  so  queer.  We  had  been 
close  to  the  door,  and  before  she 
had  finished  her  remark,  or  I  had 
ceased  from  wondering,  we  w7ere 

[64] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

chanically  I  stepped  to  them  and 
pulled  out  that  on  the  right  of 
mine.  Kate's  eyelashes  fluttered 
for  a  moment,  as  if  she  were  hesi 
tating;  then  she  slipped  into  the 
seat,  and  the  next  moment  I  was 
sitting  beside  her.  But  enchant- 
ingly  pretty  as  I  thought  her 
(and  I  was  either  too  fair-minded 
or  she  was  too  beautiful  for 
me  not  to  acknowledge  it,  how 
ever  much  I  might  dislike  to  do 
so),  I  could  only  wish  I  had 
broken  my  leg  on  my  way  to  the 
house. 

[67] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

I  turned  to  my  left  to  see  if  any 
escape  were  possible,  but  my  neigh 
bor  on  that  side  was  that  horrible 
perpetual  motion  of  a  Mrs.  Mar- 
vin,  and,  besides,  she  was  very 
properly  occupied  with  her  partner. 
I  peered  furtively  behind  Kate  to 
see  if  she  could  escape  me,  for  any 
thing  was  better  than  the  alterna 
tive.  Next  her  were  two  empty 
seats.  Mrs.  Baxter's  capacity  for 
social  blundering  had  done  its 
worst. 

There  is  this  to  be  said  for  the 

Cortelyou  women,  whether  friends 
[68] 


<* 


to 


£j> 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

or  enemies  :  I  've  never  seen  one 
show  the  white  feather  in  action. 
Just  as  I  was  preparing  to  collapse 
under  this  accumulation  of  horrors, 
Kate  turned  to  me,  with  the  friend- 
liest  of  smiles,  and  murmured,  - 

"  It  's  ghastly,  but  every  one 
except  Mrs.  Baxter  is  watching 
us." 

I  took  a  furtive  glimpse  of  the 
other  guests.  They  were  all  pre 
tending  to  talk,  but  all  clearly  were 
missing  nothing  of  our  tableau  vi- 
vant.  Was  n't  she  clever  to  have 

seen  it  so  quickly? 
[69] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


"  They  hope  we'll  make  a  show 
of  the  family  for  their  benefit/'  I 
growled. 

'"  Can't  we  —  "  suggested  Kate, 
and  then  hesitated,  and  blushed  very 
prettily.  The  Cortelyou  women  are 
plucky,  but  Kate  was  only  nineteen. 

I  never  was  good  as  leader,  but 
at  the  shafts  I'm  steady  and  reli 
able.  "Of  course  we  can,"  I  re 
sponded,  won  by  that  blush. 

"  Don't  frown,  then,"  smiled 
Kate. 

"  I  was  not  frowning  at  you,"  I 
protested. 

[70] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

"  But  they  '11  think  you  are,"  she 
replied. 

I  tried  to  appear  as  pleased  as 
Kate  so  successfully  pretended  to 
be,  and  she  rewarded  me  with  an 
encouraging  "That's  better,"  and 
a  very  refreshing  look  at  her  eyes. 

"  Now,"  she  continued,  "  how 
can  we  do  it?" 

"  I  'm  pretty  well  up  on  the  lit 
any,"  1  whispered.  "If  you  can 
do  the  supplications  I  can  respond 
with  the  'miserable  sinner'  part." 

Kate  laughed  merrily,  even  while 
shaking  her  head  reprovingly.  Kate 

[71] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

has  nice  teeth.  , "  You  are  painfully 
frank,"  she  told  me. 

"Frank?" 

"  Yes.  You  are  probably  not  a 
bit  more  miserable  than  I  am,  but 
I  don't  groan  aloud." 

"  Oh,  I  say !  "  I  exclaimed,  rather 
horrified  at  the  construction  my 
speech  had  been  given.  "  It  would 
be  pure  form,  you  know,  quite  as 
it  is  in  church,  and  not  mean  a  bit 
more  than  it  does  when  the  sinner 's 
pretty  and  wears  a  French  gown." 

Kate  drew  her  mouth  down  into 
a  church-going  expression,  which 

[721 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

was  very  fetching  in  its  demure- 
ness,  but  which  wasn't  suitable 
for  our  public  performance,  so  I 
remarked : 

"  Don't  look  so  disapproving. 
The  saintly  vein  suits  the  Madonna 
type,  but  the  Cortelyou  forte  lies  in 
quite  another  direction." 

I  won  another  laugh  from  those 
unsaintly  lips.  "  You  are  worse 
than  I  thought,"  she  added. 

"  Then  you  have  thought  of 
me  ? "  I  inquired,  beginning  to 
mellow  under  her  laugh.  That 

was  a  mistake,  for  her  face   in- 

[73] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

stantly  became  serious,  and  her 
eyes  gave  a  flash. 

"  What  I  think  is  my  own  con 
cern,"  she  responded.  The  Cortel- 
you  women  are  stunning  when  they 
look  haughty. 

Being  one  of  the  family,  how 
ever,  I  am  too  accustomed  to  the 
look  to  be  as  entirely  crushed  by  it 
as  others  are.  "Who's  frowning 
now?"  I  asked.  I  thought  I'd  learn 
what  kind  of  a  temper  Kate  had. 

She  still  smiled  as  if  she  liked 
being  put  next  me,  but'  her  eyes 
gleamed,  and  I  knew  she'd  pay  me 

[74] 


& 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

for  my  speech  if  the  opportunity 
occurred. 

"  We  can't  begin  like  this,"  she 
said.  "  Suggest  something  else." 

"  I  once  heard  of  a  poor  couple 
in  an  English  county  who  were  al- 
fo_  ways  sitting  next  each  other,  so 
they  agreed  to  count  alternative 
tens  up  to  a  thousand,"  I  answered. 

"  I  'm  afraid  you  have  n't  enough 
facial  control  for  that,"  replied  Kate, 
sweetly,  appearing  the  picture  of 
contentment.  I  thought  her  re 
mark  unnecessary,  considering  we 
had  been  face  to  face  only  a  few 

[75] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

minutes,  and  that  she  had  just  lost 
control  of  hers. 

"Then  suggest  something  your 
self,"  I  muttered. 

"  As  the  photographer  says,  '  A 
little  more  smile,  please,' "  corrected 
Kate.  "Yes,  you  unquestionably 
have  the  Cortelyou  temper,"  she 
added  serenely. 

"If  I  had,"  I  asserted,  "  I  should 
long  since  have  turned  to  Mrs. 
Marvin,  who  is  dying  for  a  lis 
tener."  I  thought  I  'd  let  Kate  un 
derstand  /  was  n't  sitting  next  two 
empty  chairs. 

[76] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


She  realized  my  advantage,  but 
she  would  n't  retreat.  The  Cortel- 
you  women  never  do.  Yet  she 
knew  enough  to  allow  the  honors 
of  war  to  a  hard-driven  enemy. 
"The  Cortelyou  men  are  gentle 
men,"  she  said.  Wasn't  that  a 
neat  way  of  telling  me  that  I  would 
never  fail  a  woman  in  distress  ?  I 
felt  pleased  that  she  understood  the 
family  so  well  as  to  have  no  fear  for 
the  conduct  of  even  her  bitterest 
enemy.  "  Besides,"  she  continued, 
"  I  like  the  Cortelyou  temper." 

I  raised  my  eyebrows. 

[77] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

"Yes,"  she  persisted,  "it's  an 
absolutely  reliable  factor.  Now, 
papa —  Then  she  hesitated,  real 
izing  the  slip. 

With  an  older  girl  I  should  have 
let  her  flounder,  and  enjoyed  it; 
but  she  was  so  young,  and  blushed 
so  charmingly  that  I  had  to  help  her 
out.  "  Don't  keep  me  in  suspense 
about  your  father,"  I  said,  in  my 
most  interested  of  tones,  as  if  I  truly 
wished  to  know  something  of  that 
blot  on  the  'scutcheon.  This  was 
my  second  mistake,  and  a  bad  one. 

"We'll  leave  Mr.  Dabney  Cor- 

[78] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

telyou  out  of  the  conversation, 
please,"  she  retorted,  looking  me 
in  the  eyes.  Was  there  ever  a 
meaner  return  for  an  act  of  pure 
charity  than  that? 

By  the  way,  Kate's  eyes  are  not 
Cortelyou.  I  wondered  from  where 
she  got  them.  When  we  are  angry 
we  contract  ours,  which  is  ugly. 
She  opens  hers,  which  is  —  I  tried 
to  make  her  do  it  again  by  saying, 
"  You  should  set  a  better  example, 
then."  No  good  :  she  had  got 
back  to  her  form,  and  was  smiling 
sweetly. 

[791 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

"  They  are  furiously  disappointed 
so  far,"  she  remarked. 

"  What  an  old  curiosity  shop 
the  world  is  about  other  people's 
affairs !  It 's  no  concern  of  theirs 
that  my  grandfather  and  your"  — 
I  faltered,  and  went  on  — "  that 
my  grandfather  had  a  row  in  his 
family.  We  don't  talk  of  it." 
When  I  said  "we"  I  meant  the 
present  company,  but  unfortu 
nately  Kate  took  it  to  mean  our 
faction,  and  knowing  of  her 
father's  idle  blabbing,  she  did  n't 
like  it. 

[80] 


to 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

"  Your  side  has  always  dodged 
publicity,"  she  affirmed  viciously, 
though  smiling  winsomely.  Kate's 
smile  must  be  her  strong  card. 

"  We  have  maintained  a  dignified 
silence,"  I  responded  calmly;  but  I 
knew  that  a  dagger  thrust  below 
that  beautifully  modelled  throat 
would  be  less  cruel. 

She  tried  to  carry  the  wound 
bravely.  "  My  father  is  quite  justi 
fied  in  letting  the  truth  be  known," 
she  insisted. 

"  Then  why  don't  you,  too,  give 
public  house-warmings  in  the  fam- 

[81] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


ily-skeleton  closet?"  I  inquired 
blandly.  That  was  really  a  tri 
umph,  for  Kate  had  never  talked 
to  outsiders  about  the  wretched 
business.  She  could  n't  even  re 
spond  with  what  she  thought ;  for 
if  she  said  that  it  was  always  the 
side  in  the  wrong  which  talked, 
she  was  no  better  off,  because  we, 
like  her,  had  kept  silence,  but 
her  father  had  chattered  it  all 
over  town.  She  looked  down, 
and  I  gloated  over  her  silence, 
till  suddenly  I  thought  I  saw  a 
suggestion  of  moisture  on  her 

[82] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


down-turned  lashes.  What  I  said 
to  myself  was  not  flattering,  and 
moreover  is  not  fit  for  publication. 
What  I  said  aloud  I  still  glow 
over  with  pride  when  it  recurs  to 
memory. 

"Beware  of  the  croquette!"  I  ex 
claimed  hastily.  "  I  Ve  just  burned 
my  tongue  horribly."  And  I 
reached  for  the  ice-water. 

She  was  as  quick  as  I  had  been. 
The  Cortelyou  girls  are  quick,  but 
she  —  well,  I  think  the  ancestress 
who  gave  her  those  eyes  must  have 
been  a  little  quicker. 
[83] 


LJ 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

'  You  spoke  a  moment  too  late," 
she  replied,  looking  up  at  me.  "  I 
had  just  done  the  same,  and  feel 
like  weeping."  I  wonder  what  the 
recording  angel  wrote  against  those 
two  speeches  ? 

Then  suddenly  Kate  began  to 
laugh. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  I  queried. 

"  Taste  your  croquette,"  she  sug 
gested. 

It  was  as  cool  as  it  should  have 
been  hot ! 

We  both  laughed  so  heartily  that 
Mr.  Baxter  called,  "  Come ;  don't 

[34] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


\ 


keep  such  a  good  story  to  your 
selves." 

"  Pretend  you  are  so  engrossed 
that  you  did  n't  hear,"  advised 
Kate,  simulating  the  utmost  inter 
est.  "  Are  n't  we  doing  well  ?  " 

"  Thanks  to  you,"  was  my  gal 
lant  reply. 

"  Thanks  to  the  Cortelyous,"  she 
declared. 

"  They  might  have  known,"  said 
I,  "  that  we  'd  never  have  a  public 
circus  to  please  them." 

"Isn't  it  nice,"  she  responded, 
"  since  we  had  to  have  a  fracas, 

[85] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


a  O 


that  it  should  be  between  ladies 
and  gentlemen?" 

"Isn't  it?"  I  acceded.  "Just 
supposing  there  had  been  some  cad 
concerned,  who  would  have  written 
to  the  papers  and  talked  to  re 
porters  ! " 

"That  was  impossible,  because 
we  are  all  Cortelyous,"  explained 
Kate.  I  like  a  girl  who  stands  up 
for  her  stock. 

"Yes,"  I  assented.  "And  that's 
the  one  advantage  of  family  rows." 

"  I  want  to  tell  you,"  she  went 
on,  "that  you  do  my  father  a 

[86] 


r7 

R> 


'THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

great  injustice.  Some  natures 
are  silent  in  grief  or  pain,  and 
some  must  cry  out.  Because 
he  talks,  merely  means  that  he 
suffers." 

I  longed  to  quote  her  remark 
about  leaving  her  father  out  of 
the  conversation,  but  having  told 
her  there  were  no  cads  in  the 
family,  the  quotation  was  unavail 
able.  So  I  merely  observed,  "  Not 
knowing  Mr.  Dabney  Cortelyou, 
I  have  had  no  chance  to  do  him 
justice." 

"But   what   you    hear  — "  she 

[87] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

began,  with  the  proudest  of  looks ; 
and  it  really  hurt  me  to  have  to 
interrupt  her  by  saying,  - 

"Since  1  only  get  word  of  him 
from  his  dearest  friends  I  am  forced 
to  take  a  somewhat  jaundiced  view 
of  him." 

"I  suppose  you  are  surrounded 
by  toadies  who  pretend  to  know 
him,"  she  said  contemptuously. 

I  was  not  to  be  made  angry.  I 
was  enjoying  the  dinner  too  much. 
"  It  would  be  a  very  terrible  thing 
for  our  mutual  friends,"  I  contin 
ued,  "  if  the  breach  were  ever 

[88] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


healed,  and  we  exchanged  notes  as 
to  their  tattling-." 

"  Fortunately  they  are  in  no  dan 
ger,"  she  answered,  more  cheerfully 
-indeed  I  might  say,  more  glee 
fully —  than  it  seemed  to  me  the 
occasion  required. 

"  Fortunately,"  I  agreed,  out  of 
self-respect.  Then  I  weakened  a 
little  by  adding,  "  But  what  a  pity 
it  is  you  and  I  didn't  have  the 
settling  of  that  farm-line ! " 

"  My  father  could  not  have 
acted  otherwise,"  she  challenged 
back. 

[89] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

"And  the  courts  decided  that 
my  grandfather  was  right." 

"  I  should  have  done  just  as  he 
did,"  she  replied. 

"Then  you  acknowledge  my 
grandfather  was  right?" 

"  I! "   -indignantly. 

"You  just  assured  me  you  should 
have  done  as  he  did ! "  I  teased, 
laughing.  "No.  Of  course  both 
of  them  were  justified  in  every 
thing  but  in  their  making  a  legal 
matter  a  family  quarrel.  If  we  had 
had  it  to  do,  it  would  have  been 
done  amicably,  I  think." 

[90] 


"  '  What  makes  you  so  sure?' ' 

(.See  page  91) 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


"  What  makes  you  so  sure  ? " 
she  asked. 

"  Because  I  am  sweet-tempered, 
and  you- 

She  wouldn't  accept  a  compli 
ment  from  an  enemy,  so  interrupted 
me  with,  "  My  father  has  one  of  the 
finest  natures  I  have  ever  known." 

"'Physician,  know  thyself,"  I 
quoted,  getting  in  the  compliment 
in  spite  of  her. 

"That's  more  than  you  do,"  she 
replied  merrily. 

This  could  be  taken  in  two  ways, 
but  I  preferred  to  make  it  applica- 

[91] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

ble  to  her  rather  than  to  myself.  I 
said,  "  Our  acquaintance  has  been 
short." 

"But  we  know  all  about  the 
stock,"  she  corrected. 

"  I  'm  proud  of  the  family,"  I  ac 
knowledged;  "but  don't  let's  be 
Ibsenish." 

"I  knew  you  didn't  like  him," 
said  Kate,  confidentially.  "  I  don't 
either." 

"  He 's  rather  rough  on  us  old 
families,"  I  intimated. 

"Sour  grapes,"   explained  Kate. 

"  The   would  n't-because-I-can't-be 

[92] 


a  O 


t 

V 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


people  always  stir  up  the  sediments 
of  my  Cortelyou  temper." 

"  I  thought  you  liked  the  family 
temper,"  I  suggested. 

"  In  anybody  but  myself,"  she 
told  me.  "  With  others  it  's  really 
a  great  help.  Now,  with  my  broth 
ers,  I  know  just  how  far  I  can  go 
safely,  and  it's  easy  to  manage 
them." 

"  I  suppose  that  accounts  for  the 
ease  with  which  you  manage  me." 

She  laughed,  and  replied  de 
murely,  "  I  think  we  are  both  on 

our  good  behavior." 
[93] 


*:•:•':•; 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

"  I  'm  afraid  our  respective  and 
respected  parents  won't  think  so." 

This  made  her  look  serious,  and 
I  wondered  if  her  father  could  be 
brute  enough  ever  to  lose  that 
awful  temper  of  his  at  such  a 
charming  daughter.  The  thought 
almost  made  me  lose  mine.  "They 
can't  blame  you,"  I  assured  her. 
"Your  father  —  " 

"  Is  sure  that  everything  I  do  is 
right,"  she  interjected,  "  but  Mrs. 
Pellew?" 

"We  will  not  make  Mrs.  Pel- 
lew—" 

[94] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


Kate  saw  I  was  going  to  use  her 
own  speech,  and  she  interrupted 
in  turn.  "  Of  course  you  are  over 
twenty-one,"  she  continued,  "but 
the  Cortelyou  women  always  have 
their  way.  I  hope  she  won't  be 
very  bad  to  you." 

She  certainly  had  paid  me  off, 
and  to  boot,  for  my  earlier  speech, 
And  the  nasty  thing  about  it 
was  that  any  attempt  to  answer 
her  would  look  as  if  I  felt  there 
was  truth  in  her  speech,  which 
was  really  ridiculous.  Though  I 

live  with   my  mother,  my  friends 

[95] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

know  who  is  the  real  master  of 
the  house. 

"  Any  one  living  with  a  Cortel- 
you  woman  must  confess  her  su 
periority,"  I  responded,  bowing 
deferentially. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  nodding  her 
head  knowingly.  "  People  say  that 
she  spoils  you.  Now  I  see  how 
you  compass  it." 

"  We  have  only  exchanged  Ibsen 
for  Mrs.  Grundy,"  I  complained. 

" '  Excelsior '  is  a  good  rule,"  an 
nounced  Kate. 

"  That 's  what  you  '11  be  doing 

[96] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

in  a  moment,"  said  I,  trying  to 
look  doleful,  for  we  were  eating 
the  game  course. 

"  How  well  you  act  it !  "  replied 
Kate.  "You  ought  to  go  on  the 
stage.  What  a  pity  that  you  should 
waste  your  time  on  clubs  and  after 
noon  teas !  " 

"  Look  here,"  I  protested,  "  I  've 
done  my  best  all  through  din 
ner,  considering  my  Cortelyou 
temper,  and  now,  just  because 
it's  so  nearly  over  that  you 
don't  need  me  any  longer  is  no 
reason  for  making  such  speeches. 

[97] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

I  don't  go  to  my  club  once  a 
week,  and  1  despise  afternoon 
teas." 

"  That  sampler  has  become  posi 
tively  threadbare,"  retorted  Kate. 
"  I  really  think  it  must  be  worked 
in  worsted,  and  hung  up  in  all  the 
New  York  clubs,  like  'God  bless 
our  home  ! '  and  '  Merry  Christ 
mas!'" 

"  I  much  prefer  hearts  to  clubs, 
for  a  steady  trump,"  I  remarked. 

"  You  play  billiards,  I  presume  ?  " 

'  Yes,"  I  innocently  replied. 

"  What 's  your  average  run  ?  " 

[98] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


It  was  a  tempting  bait  she  shoved 
under  my  nose,  but  I  realized  the 
trap,  and  was  too  wary  to  be  caught. 
"  Oh,  four,  when  I  'm  in  good  form." 

"  Really  ?  " 

"  Really."  I  did  not  choose  to 
EL  add  that  I  was  talking  of  the  balk- 
line  game,  not  caring  to  be  too 
technical  with  a  woman. 

"  That 's  very  curious !  "  she  ex 
claimed. 

"  I  suppose  some  devoted  friend 
of  mine  has  told  you  I'm  only  a 
billiard-marker?"  I  inquired. 

"No  — but  - 

[99] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


"But?'' 

"  Nothing." 

"  George  Washington  became 
President  by  always  telling  the 
truth." 

"  That 's  the  advantage  of  being 
a  woman,"  replied  Kate.  "We 
don't  have  to  scheme  and  plot  and 
crawl  for  the  Presidency," 

"How  about  spring  bonnets?" 
I  mildly  insinuated. 

"  Does  your  mother  have  a  very 
bad  time  persuading  you  to  pay 
for  hers?"  laughed  Kate,  mischiev 
ously. 

[100] 


THE    CORTELTOU  '- 


I  didn't  like  the  question,  though 
I  knew  she  was  only  teasing,  so  I 
recurred  to  my  question.  "  You 
haven't  told  me  what  that  'noth 
ing'  was,"  I  persisted. 

"  I  ought  n't,"  urged  Kate. 

"  Then  I  know  you  will,"  I  said 
confidently. 

"Well,  Seymour  Halsey  said  to 
Weedon  the  other  night,  '  I  wish 
you  could  play  with  Jack  Pellew, 
so  as  to  knock  some  of  his  airs 
out  of  him  ! ' 

"Why,"  I  ejaculated,   "I   could 

play  cushion  caroms  against  your 
[101] 


CORTELTOU  FEUD 

brother's  straight  game  and  beat 
him  then !  " 

"I  never  did  believe  that  story 
about  George  Washington/'  as 
serted  Kate,  with  a  singular  want 
of  relevance. 

"  No  woman  could,"  I  answered, 
squaring  accounts  promptly. 

Here  1  saw  the  little  preliminary 
flutter  among  the  ladies,  and  know 
ing  that  I  should  never  speak  to 
Kate  again,  I  said :  "  Miss  Cortel- 
you,  I  'm  afraid  an  unkind  remark 
of  mine  a  little  while  ago  gave  you 
pain.  You've  probably  forgotten 

[102] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

it  already,  but  I  never  shall  cease 
to  regret  I  made  it." 

"Don't  think  of  it  again,"  she 
replied,  kindly,  as  she  rose.  "And 
thank  you  for  a  pleasant  evening." 

"Don't  blame  me  for  that,"  1 
pleaded  hastily.  "  It  was  your  own 
fault." 

"  Not  entirely,"  denied  Kate. 
"  We  did  it  so  well  that  I  'm 
prouder  than  ever  of  the  family." 

"  I  decline  to  share  this  honor 
with  my  grandfather,"  I  protested 
indignantly.  "  He  could  n't  keep 

his  temper,  bother  him!" 

[103] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

We  were  at  the  door  now,  and 
Kate  gave  me  the  prettiest  of  part 
ing  nods  and  smiles. 

"  Was  n't  it  a  pity?  "  she  sighed. 
That  was  distinctly  nice  of  her. 
Just  like  a  Cortelyou  woman. 

"  Whew !  Jack,"  whistled  Ferdie 
Gallaudet.  "I  thought  I  should 
die,  and  expected  to  sit  on  your 
body  at  the  post-mortem."  Ferdie 
thinks  he 's  clever  ! 

"Oh,  shut  up,  Ferdie,"  I  growled, 
dropping  back  into  my  seat. 

"  Don't  wonder  your  tem 
per's  queered,"  persisted  the  little 

[104] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

ass.     "'Wotinell'   did  you  talk 
about  ?  " 
"  Family  matters,"  I  muttered. 

"°h' l  say>  that's  a  bit  shiny at 

the  joints.  It  was  too  well  done 
to  have  verged  on  that  subject." 

"  We  talked  family  matters,  and 
enjoyed  it,"  I  insisted. 

"  Ever  hear  of  George  Washing 
ton?"  inquired  Ferdie. 

"  Kate  mentioned  him  to  me  to 
night,  and  I  promised  to  put  him 
up  at  the  Knickerbocker  for  a 
month." 

"Kate!"  exclaimed  Ferdie. 

[105] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 


I  lighted  my  cigar. 

"Kate!"  he  repeated,  with  a  ris 
ing  inflection.  "  Now  look  here,  I 
wasn't  born  yesterday." 

"Where's  your  family  Bible?" 
I  inquired  blandly. 

"  You  '11  be  saying  next  that  to 
night's  arrangement  was  by  '  spe 
cial  request." 

"  You  were  across  the  table,"  I 
retorted.  "  Draw  your  own  con 
clusions." 

"  I  suppose  you  '11  join  her  later," 
suggested  Ferdie,  in  an  irritating 
manner. 

[106] 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 


I  would  n't  be  bluffed  by  him,  so 
I  replied  pointedly,  "  I  may,  to  save 
her  from  worse." 

"  Give  you  odds  on  it,"  offered 
Ferdie. 

"  I  don't  make  bets  where  women 
are  concerned,"  I  crushingly  re 
sponded. 

"  Sorry  the  strain  has  left  you  so 
bad-tempered,"  said  Ferdie,  rising. 
"  There 's  Caldwell  beckoning  to 
me.  Ta,  ta  1 " 

I  have  liked  Caldwell  ever  since. 

When  we  joined  the  ladies  I 
went  over  to  Kate. 

[107] 


THE    CGRTELTOU   FEUD 

"  This  is  persecution,"  she  smil 
ingly  protested,  as  she  made  room 
for  me  on  the  sofa. 

"  I  know  it,"  I  cheerfully  groaned, 
as  I  sat  down  beside  her.  "  But 
I  had  to  for  the  sake  of  the 
family." 

"  A  family  is  a  terrible  thing  to 
live  up  to ! "  sighed  Kate. 

"Terrible!"  I  ejaculated. 

"  Fortunately  it  will  only  be  for 
a  moment,"  she  assured  me. 

"  If  you  go  at  once,"  I  urged, 
"they'll  all  think  it's  the  feud." 

"  What  a  nuisance  ! "  cried  Kate. 

r  108 1 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

"I  ought  to  be  on  my  way  to  a 
musical  this  very  minute." 

"  On  the  principle  that  music 
hath  charms  ?  "  I  queried. 

"Good-night!"  she  said,  hold 
ing  out  her  hand.  I  had  already 
noticed  what  pretty  hands  Kate  had. 

"  Forgive  me ! "  I  begged. 

"  Never  !"  she  replied. 

"  You  are  serious  ? "  1  ques 
tioned,  and  she  understood  what  I 
meant  as  if  I  had  said  it.  I  do  like 
people  who  can  read  between  the 
lines ! 

She  amended   her  "never"   to, 

[  109] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

u  Well,   not    till    I    have   had    my 
chance  to  even  the  score." 
"  Take  it  now." 
"  I  have  n't  time." 
"  I  will  submit  to  anything." 
"  My  revenge  must  be  deep." 
"  I  will  do  the  thing  I  most  hate." 
"  Even  afternoon  teas  ?  "  laughed 
Kate,  archly. 

I  faltered  in  voice  while  promis 
ing,  "  Even  afternoon  teas  !  " 

"Then  I'll  send  you  a  card  for 
mine,"  she  ended,  and  left  me, 
crushed  and  hopeless. 


110 


a  O 
jAl 


1 


THE    CORTELTOU   FEUD 

No.  That  did  n't  end  the  feud. 
It  only  led  to  a  truce.  For  a  time 
things  went  very  well,  but  then  the 
quarrel  broke  out  with  renewed 
force.  You  see,  Kate  claimed  I 
spoiled  the  boy,  and  I  claimed  she 
did  the  spoiling.  So  we  submitted  it 
to  arbitration.  My  mother  said  Kate 
was  very  judicious,  and  her  father 
declared  I  was  a  model  parent. 
Then  we  called  in  his  godmother, 
and  she  decided  we  all  four  spoiled 
him.  It 's  been  open  war  ever 
since,  with  an  occasional  brief  ces 
sation  of  hostilities  whenever  Kate 
[in] 


THE    CORTELTOU    FEUD 

kisses  me.  After  the  boy 's  grown 
up,  I  suppose,  peace  will  come  again. 
His  godmother?  Oh!  Mrs.  Bax 
ter.  You  see,  we  could  n't  do  less, 
for  she  had  talked  it  all  over  town 
that  the  match  was  of  her  making. 
Her  making !  In  ten  cases  out  of 
nine  she  would  have  had  a  dis 
rupted  dinner.  It's  lucky  for  her 
that  Kate  was  a  Cortelyou  woman ! 


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